Ray T Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I bought myself a gen earlier in this month, pretty much stashed away until now. Noticed this a few days ago, and wondered if this is common. The springbars were checked and replaced, and they were not the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefcook Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Yes, this is quite common together with crooked cyclopses, dust on the dial, fingerprints on the crystal (inside) or bezel inserts not centered propperly. Had all of those problems on gen rolexes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDG Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 My opinion is that a Rolex can best be bought rep. A gen is way overpriced and still has possibility of flaws. But most of all, people will think your rolex is fake anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjjoyce1 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 You know Ray, because of this issue, I'm surprised Rolex didn't invent SEL's years before they did. I fly with a guy who has a 1675 that's nearly as old as I am that's 100% untouched original. His end links are so schmushed and ill fitting it's embarassing. The hollow end links are incredibly easy to bend, which is bad on one hand, but good in that you can easily tweak them on the other. Let's see more of that beauty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanshogun Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 My opinion is that a Rolex can best be bought rep. A gen is way overpriced and still has possibility of flaws. But most of all, people will think your rolex is fake anyway. Who cares what people think? I was wearing a rep daytona and a buddy of mine asked to take a look. He inspects it for like 5 minutes, and says it's a fake. I say yup, it's a fake, give it back. He then changes his mind and decided it was real. The point is, if it is a gen, why do you care if people think it's a rep? Likewise, if its a good rep, and people think it is a rep, why care? The majority of people think any watch with rolex on the dial that isn't ticking is real. It only matters what you think. If you think it's a pos and you walk around suspecting people are suspecting you are wearing a rep, then I do not think reps are for you. As a corollary to this, if you do not get a gen rolex because people will think it's fake anyway, maybe gens are not for you. My last problem with that post is that it confirms what all gen wis guys think; that all people with reps are trying to be something they're not, or portray some lifestyle they do not have in some elaborate con. If I buy this rep or gen rolex, people will think it's fake, an they will see through my deception. And that is why I do not buy a rolex, rep or gen. As far as a gen roles being overpriced, please keep in mind the r and d costs involved in making some of these things, and the considerable fixed costs involved with making watches in a factory, from scratch, with in house movements. Smelting costs, casting costs, labour costs etc. Etc. All make the price high. While this same watch can be recreated on china for a fraction of the price now, the watch and it's design and it's construction had to come from somewhere before The factory in china could copy it. All of these things contribute to the average cost of an 'overpriced' watch. While it is true that there is some degree of ostentatious demand and pricing involved ( I.e. The price being high creates demand from people who buy expensive stuff as a statement or because try can), I am sure a large extent of the price paid for a gen is due to economic factors, of sunk costs of advertising, branding, sponsorship, etc. These fixed costs create a high average cost even though the marginal cost of each additional watch will be relatively small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I bought myself a gen earlier in this month, pretty much stashed away until now. Noticed this a few days ago, and wondered if this is common. The springbars were checked and replaced, and they were not the problem. I am not sure I see a problem? Yes, sometimes end links do not fit absolutely perfectly (when viewed under magnification), but I suspect it would look fine when viewed without enlargement. Can you post a good, clear pic (1024x768) of the entire watch from a normal viewing distance (1-2 feet away)? In any case, unlike a rep, if something about a gen watch bothers you, you can take the watch back to the AD & see what Rolex says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliptical Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 My opinion is that a Rolex can best be bought rep. A gen is way overpriced and still has possibility of flaws. But most of all, people will think your rolex is fake anyway. Overpriced? Rolex is one of the cheapest watches you can buy with an in house movement. Stupid reason to not buy something because what other people think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Also, I never understood how a lowly $5K Rolex could portray anything about anyone's "lifestyle". Any working average adult (who's not working at McDonalds) can purchase a $5K watch if he really wants it. Lots of (relatively) poor people put a lot of money on a new car, like 20K on a boring Toyota Corolla. How come that doesn't raise any eyebrows, especially when you can buy decent, working old cars for 1K? And besides, you can always get your money back from a Rolex (if you buy a preowned steel Sub/GMT). In 10 years it's worth just as much as when you purchased it. In 10 years that 20K Toyota is worth nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praetor Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 It's actually kinda sad that now we believe that anything that is not in-house is considered cheap and terrible because of ETA's dominance. In traditional Swiss watchmaking, it is actually common to rely on ebauches made by specialist companies. Even Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin used a Valjoux and Lemania ebauches for their chronographs until very recently. You might also be surprised that they have used, in the past, Piaget ebauches for their basic caliber movements. Wathcmaking was defined by the ability of a watchmaking house to finish/polish ebauches to complete movements. I would very much prefer that the in-house = higher quality marketing gimmick to go away, it's killing tradition...But such is life, ETA pretty much bought almost all ebauche making companies and asserted its dominance with cheaply designed movements during the quartz crisis. thx for reading my rant =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Also, I never understood how a lowly $5K Rolex could portray anything about anyone's "lifestyle". Any working average adult (who's not working at McDonalds) can purchase a $5K watch if he really wants it. Lots of (relatively) poor people put a lot of money on a new car, like 20K on a boring Toyota Corolla. How come that doesn't raise any eyebrows, especially when you can buy decent, working old cars for 1K? And besides, you can always get your money back from a Rolex (if you buy a preowned steel Sub/GMT). In 10 years it's worth just as much as when you purchased it. In 10 years that 20K Toyota is worth nothing. Too True! Hell, a fully loaded Apple Mac Book Pro costs as much as a used Rolex 14060 and other models can be had for LESS than a new MacBook. From a lifestyle perspective, walking around with an iPhone, Ipad, and MacBook Pro (since you still need a "real" computer) costs more than your average SS Rolex. Finally, to the OP bracelet question-- Rolex Bracelets up until recent years are nothing great. They stretch, endlinks are less than perfect, and most people will think your GEN is a REP because of their light crappy bracelets. They may look cool and are comfortable, but at the end of the day (older) GEN Rolex bracelets are LOW QUALITY when compared to brands as cheap as Seiko. To this day, I am baffled by the prices used POS Rolex bracelets still get on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I have changed my mind about Rolex Oyster bracelets during the years. I appreciate the lightness and comfort. Nothing wears as comfortable as my gen 16710 and WM9 16610. "Heavier" doesn't correlate with quality... I believe they originally decided to go with hollow links on the Oyster bands because they wanted to keep the watch weight down. Remember, Sub used to be a huge watch, by the 60's and 70's standards anyway... The rep Rolex bracelets can never quite match the silkiness and smoothness of the gen though. It's really weird... you can oil them and do all kinds of tricks but the feel is still only like 90%. Not that it matters though, it's just something I can't figure out. And the gen sapphire models' SEL fitment is usually very, very good... at least compared to reps. Only WM9 v1 Sub had them done 95% gen like. But of course when the springbar twists or bends the fitment goes out of place... on reps and gens. I suspect that's the case on the Daytona pictured in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 No question about comfort. My Exp II is the most comfortable watch I own. Good observation on Hollow actually being used as a strategy to actually lighten it up in a time of smaller watches. This is especially true when you get into the Gold models as gold adds more weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_w Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 It's actually kinda sad that now we believe that anything that is not in-house is considered cheap and terrible because of ETA's dominance. In traditional Swiss watchmaking, it is actually common to rely on ebauches made by specialist companies. Even Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin used a Valjoux and Lemania ebauches for their chronographs until very recently. You might also be surprised that they have used, in the past, Piaget ebauches for their basic caliber movements. Wathcmaking was defined by the ability of a watchmaking house to finish/polish ebauches to complete movements. I would very much prefer that the in-house = higher quality marketing gimmick to go away, it's killing tradition...But such is life, ETA pretty much bought almost all ebauche making companies and asserted its dominance with cheaply designed movements during the quartz crisis. thx for reading my rant =D You have a very good point. The IWC Il Destriero Scafusia Grand Complication in its day was considered to be the most complicated watch movement in the world. And it was based on a Valjoux 7750 ebauche. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Looks normal to me. My 78390A also has a gap between the endlink and case that is one arm hair wide... but I don't magnify it 50x and worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray T Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I will post another pic later but it is visible from a foot or so away. the gap is less then 1mm but it is only one one side which makes it stick out. rolex ad and rsc ny told me they don't see a problem, but rsc ny did replace the spring bar to see if it helps, but same issue. this is a solid end link btw, not a hollow one. This is the newest daytona bracelet with the latest clasp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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